The Prosciutto di San Daniele PDO protection Consortium has recently made some amendments to the product specification.
The final decision has been made after a two years process, following the identification of a batch of hams produced in Friuli from pigs of a breed not included in the regulations, with the consequent ‘loss’ of about 300 thousand hams. The new rules fill in the gaps in the previous production manual.
THE NEW PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
- The weight of the fresh hind leg and whole cured ham has been introduced, and it will have to be specificated. The fresh leg weight may vary from a minimum of 12.5 kg to a maximum of 17.5 kg, while the cured ham weight may vary from a minimum of 8.3 kg to a maximum of 12.8 kg;
- The salt content may vary between a minimum of 4.3% and a maximum of 6%;
- At the same time, the weight of the pig carcass at slaughter has been defined, which may vary from a minimum of 101.1 kg to a maximum of 168 kg;
- A minimum maturation period of 400 days (i.e. 13 months) has been introduced.
THE NEW CROSSBREEDS
“The kind of pigs that can be admitted into our PDO circuit – explained the president of the Prosciutto San Daniele PDO protection Consortium, Giuseppe Villani – has been genetically identified. Only 4 crossbreeds are allowed. The requirements for the feeding of pigs (only noble cereals of Italian origin) have been defined too, in addition to a minimum age requirement for pigs. These elements represent solid reference points for breeders, and the changes we made will allow the Prosciutto di San Daniele PDO production chain improve further.”
“The register of piglets and the genetic database will enter into force immediately – added the director of the Consortium, Mario Cichetti -. These changes involve only 8 articles, but they are very important for oour production chain.”
PROSCIUTTO DI SAN DANIELE IN NUMBERS
The Prosciutto di San Daniele PDO Consortium can count on 3,927 farms, 116 slaughterhouses and 31 curing plants. In 2019 this typical Italian ham from Friuli developed a turnover of 330 million euros and a production close to 2.8 million hams, with a +10% exports growth.